I would like to transform my garden. Being a city slicker having a big garden was a dream but I am clueless where to start . We have a large area out the front that is grassed but the back of the house is bare. we have added in a swing set and a clothes line but that is it. We have to do some ground work this year so am hoping to tie it all in and have a plan. Ideally I am looking for play areas for the kids, somewhere for me to chill and bbq and to add some flower beds, ones that would be easily maintained. I would love to grow some fresh herbs.
Can anyone advise what would be the best materials to use to create any of the above mentioned areas. As it is in the bog is there anything I should avoid? We have had concrete as a part drive but this needs to be removed and I would look at not replacing this. Someone had advised replacing the drive with 804 chip, any thoughts?

A couple of raised beds ( for better drainage ) near your kitchen door for herbs would be a good start...as long as that would be a sunny spot ! But maybe start by doing some drawings to get an idea of how the whole garden could develop over the years.

I agree with Sive. It is very hard to make decisions without a drawing of the whole garden. It doesn't need to be a masterpiece of draftsmanship! But it really does help to get an idea of the proportions of the garden and the relationships between it and the house, the drive, the direction of the sun and prevailing wind etc. A tape measure and a big sheet of squared paper will help you to get a sketch plan that's to scale.

If you make a list of what you want from the garden, that helps, too. And you can decide what you want in the short term and what can wait a few years.

Sive's other suggestion is good, as well. Just get growing something - herbs in a small raised bed, some bulbs and spring flowers in containers that you can fill with summer flowers later. Once you see stuff growing you won't be able to stop! I wish you well with it. There's lots of help on this forum.

Welcome. Clause 804 is good on a driveway as it binds well and can look good when rolled and compacted properly. Keep some for filling the inevitable ruts though. Planning is key. Start with a scaled drawing and do lots of research. There is no quick fix. Raised beds is good advice as it will get you going quickly. Decide on a few trees and get them in rapidly. Time is running out for this year._________________“It’s my field. It’s my child. I nursed it. I nourished it. I saw to its every want. I dug the rocks out of it with my bare hands and I made a living thing of it!”

Thats a nice problem to have, What you want and what you can afford may not be the same,
Most people want, Herbaceous borders, shrubs, large patio, Lawn,
BBQ area (In Ireland) cannot ever get my head around this not worth the effort for a couple of sunny days.
This is what you really need.
1. A big shed somewhere to get head space.
2. A large patio area where you can sit out play football, basketball, allow the dog to run, somewhere to cycle the bikes.
3. Lawn area, green space is nice to look at, not too big that it becomes a chore to cut and maintain, It will be out of bounds for between 5/6 months of year why, Too wet to play on, long grass, Mucky, Possible flooding due to holding water, So keep it small and easy to maintain.
4. Access to the garden so you need paths, Wide enough to wheel a barrow around and maybe cycle around, wide enough for two people to pass on.
5. Portable BBQ which can be stored in shed when not in use
6. Big shed to store bikes, tools and room to walk around in and work in without emptying it to do above. ( See 1 Above)
7. Some medium trees to provide screening, some shrubs both decidious and evergreen.
8. Vegetable area if you have interest , space and time.
9. Animals, Dogs are not compatible with gardens (In trouble here for that comment) Cats are not compatible with vegetable garden (Sorry cat lovers I hate cats) Chickens will provide entertainment and food and eggs if confined to pen will also entertain city visitors, Goat is a possibility. Bees for honey
Lots and lots of money, you can save 10 grand if you dont have the FO gates also know as Automatic gates, that way people will call unannounced and great way of making friends in countryside who can help with letting you know where to find everything you need, Welcome to the countryside always keep the kettle on the boil and good luck with the project.

Bit heavy with the bikes theme there Greengage. Cycle around the patio area/lawn? WTF? What are country roads for?_________________“It’s my field. It’s my child. I nursed it. I nourished it. I saw to its every want. I dug the rocks out of it with my bare hands and I made a living thing of it!”

No I was trying to help, country roads,narrow, blind bends, tractors, tailors, lack of public lighting, stray animals etc. etc. i would not allow small children cycle on country roads without a lot of experience, remember he has moved from the city so steep learning curve about country life. It works the same opp direction if I move to city, Traffic lights, yellow boxes , double yellow lines and single ones clearway's even lines down middle of road Zebra crossing, Rules that have to be obeyed.

Fair point i suppose. I didn't think that a "tailor" was a hazard though!!!_________________“It’s my field. It’s my child. I nursed it. I nourished it. I saw to its every want. I dug the rocks out of it with my bare hands and I made a living thing of it!”

your right that should have been trailer, but i could tell you about the hazerdous tailor but not on this site and thats getting away from the chaps problem lets see what he/she thinks. They have one post so lets hope we can provoke a response and they dont disappear after one shot here.

From the amount of work that Mousey has in mind he could well be here for the long haul._________________“It’s my field. It’s my child. I nursed it. I nourished it. I saw to its every want. I dug the rocks out of it with my bare hands and I made a living thing of it!”

There has been a few dodgy looking sketches put up here in the past. Twas hard to make head or tail out of some of them._________________“It’s my field. It’s my child. I nursed it. I nourished it. I saw to its every want. I dug the rocks out of it with my bare hands and I made a living thing of it!”

True, drawing doesn't come easily to everyone and most people never had the opportunity of getting the training. But I recall seeing simple procedures for drawing a sketch plan of a garden to scale "outlined" (geddit, Tagwex?) in various garden design books. A visit to the local library would probably turn one up.

Sorting out scale is really important as most people's intuitive impressions of the dimensions and proportions of spaces (especially outdoors) are unconsciously distorted. I find this happens to me if I'm not very careful and I do have the training!

Hi Mousey. I do hope you haven't been put off by the barrage of posts! We all mean well.

If you are interested, Aldi are offering raised bed kits for €9.99. They are on the small side but if you put one on top of another you would have sufficient depth of soil , with decent drainage, to enable you to grow salads, herbs, peas or similar. One bed on its own would enable you to grow some flowers.

All you need to do is place them on the ground in a sunny, open position, put cardboard or multiple sheets of newspaper in the base to prevent weeds coming up from your garden soil, and then fill them with good quality soil. Presto! You have a garden.

Looking at those photos again GG I am wondering if Mousey has even less topsoil depth than you do. And that would be something._________________“It’s my field. It’s my child. I nursed it. I nourished it. I saw to its every want. I dug the rocks out of it with my bare hands and I made a living thing of it!”

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